Rwanda | Akagera Urubyiruko Washed

Producer // 15 Farmers at the Akagera Station.

Region // Bushekeri Sector, Nyamasheke District, Western Province

Process // Washed

Altitude // 1550-1900masl

Flavor Notes // Bright, Clean, Red Fruits

Roast Level // Light

We are so excited to bring you this delicious Rwanda natural-processed coffee from Baho Coffee, a family run specialty coffee export company that does impressive social work, imported by Sundog Trading Co.

From Emmanuel Rusatira of Baho: "With more than 15 years of experience in the Rwandan specialty coffee industry, we, as the Rusatira family, found the opportunity to set up our own four coffee washing stations. The location and specific management of each station shows itself in unique flavour profiles. We developed our own grading system and are continuously experimenting with washed, honey, and natural processed coffee. All year round we work together with coffee producers to support them both on the field and financially. This is to produce the best coffee cherries of the region and boost quality, year after year.

⁠⁠All our attention goes to selection, depulping, fermentation, washing, drying, storage, and continuous quality control. We believe coffee talks. Cleanliness, mouthfeel, aroma, sweetness, acidity, tasting notes - all come to the⁠ surface in the cup. Listening to our coffees and sharing their conversation is our main goal. That is why we want to...support each other (in the coffee industry), grow together, and make a difference in coffee culture and beyond!"

Full Transparency Report from Sundog Trading:

• Rwanda national farmgate price for cherry - 510 rwf/kg

• Baho farmgate price for cherry - 670 rwf/kg + 120 rwf/kg second payment 

• FOT price, paid directly to Baho Coffee - $3.63 usd/lb 

• FOB price, including transportation to port of export - $3.73 usd/lb

• We purchase coffees from Baho on an FOT basis, meaning that responsibility for the coffee transfers to us when it’s loaded onto a container in Kigali, Rwanda. We are then responsible for freight and any additional costs associated with moving that container to the port of Mombasa, Kenya, and shipping to the US. The FOB price listed here is to provide a theoretical reference point to better compare against the majority of price transparency reporting.

• Emmanuel estimates that the current average conversion rate from cherry to green coffee is around 16% for all quality grades. However, the conversion rate for the highest scoring specialty coffees which we purchase is closer to 10%! This means that after the many rounds of cherry and parchment sorting, 100 kg of cherry only yields around 10 kg of specialty green coffee. We feel that this is a very relevant point to consider when comparing coffee prices across different production models in different countries. In the case of Rwanda, the washing station is largely responsible for the costs associated with production and plays a massive role in adding value.